Homegrown National Park

06/11/2026

Firefly populations are declining, but your yard can be part of the comeback.

✨ Plant native
✨ Leave the leaf litter
✨ Dim (or turn off) outdoor lights
✨ Establish no-mow zones
✨ Skip the pesticides

Small changes add up fast when thousands of yards are making them.

The firefly isn't just our logo — it's a reminder that even a small light can guide the way.

Add your yard to the Homegrown National Park Biodiversity Map and help us light up the future for fireflies.

06/11/2026

A 5-minute must-watch! Joanna and Murray from PLAN it WILD explain the life of a chickadee on Today Show. Their examples show how important it is to plant native.

Register for the LessLawn More Life Challenge for more step-by-step guidance. Link in comments.

Joanna Hall, CEO of Wilder Places, and Murray Fisher, a partner in the company, join TODAY to discuss the Less Lawn More Life Campaign to restore nature to our own backyards. They also share how small changes you can make to rewild and restore nature to your lawn.

06/01/2026

Main Street Magazine just featured our pilot garden center initiative in the Berkshires and Litchfield Hills. We love how they captured the why behind native plants.

Ward's Garden Center, Paley's Farm Market, and Salisbury Garden Center & Landscaping are now hosting Homegrown National Park Native Plant Centers. Look for the banner, grab a keystone plant, and scan the QR code to learn what wildlife depends on it.

Every native plant you put in the ground supports insects, birds, and the whole food web — that's a real difference, right outside your door.

It’s spring, and it’s finally warming up. Many of us are eager to get outside in the dirt and plant the flowers, trees, and shrubs that we will be enjoying for seasons to come. When it comes to selecting varieties, we should choose wisely. According to Doug

05/28/2026

We're in Country Living! They covered the Mosquito Bucket Challenge, and we love how they framed it: a simple, inexpensive way to reduce mosquitoes without harming the bees, butterflies, and fireflies you worked so hard to attract.

The setup takes five minutes. The materials cost a few dollars. And when neighbors do it together, the impact multiplies.

Read the full article, then get instructions (link in comments)

Mosquito buckets target mosquitoes before they hatch—without harming bees, butterflies, or other pollinators.

05/22/2026

Ever since getting into native plants I can no longer simply "go for a walk" without stopping every 30 seconds to inspect a new flower.

I know just enough to realize I have absolutely no idea what I'm looking at out here in the PNW.

Shoutout to my husband for patiently waiting while I investigate every random plant that catches my eye.

05/22/2026

Mosquitoes don't respect property lines, and no one single thing completely solves them.

Krista De Cooke explains where the Mosquito Bucket Challenge fits into mosquito control overall.

It's one layer of a smarter system: dump standing water (plant saucers, clogged gutters), plant natives that support dragonflies, frogs, birds, and bats, use a fan outside (mosquitoes are surprisingly weak flyers), and get your neighbors involved.

The bucket works because it's more targeted than broad-spectrum fogging, which kills pretty much any insect on your property. That's a big difference when you're trying to protect pollinators and the rest of your ecosystem.

Build your bucket! Check the comments for link.

05/20/2026

These are some of the keystone plants for the Mixed Wood Plains ecoregion — plants that make the most difference right where you live.

Keystone plants support more insects, birds, and wildlife. Try adding even one to your yard and see what wildlife shows up. 🦋🐝🐦‍⬛🌱

Our Keystone Plant Tool uses EPA Level II ecoregions rather than state-by-state native plant lists. Most plants shown are native to a large portion of the ecoregion, and all are highly beneficial to local insects, birds, and wildlife.

The plant database is in beta with a limited number of species, and we're adding more over time.

Find more keystone plants for your area using our free Keystone Plant Tool.

02/09/2026

It's just under six weeks to the spring equinox—which 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 are you most looking forward to seeing?